What Love Does to Your Diet

Your ass should not grow in direct proportion to your affection for your guy. Follow our tips for keeping couples' bad eating habits in check so you both stay looking as hot as you did the day you met.

In the first few weeks of a relationship,
it's common to drop a
few pounds — appetite-suppressing
adrenaline is pumping, your willpower
is in overdrive (gotta look good for your
new man!), and constant sex burns
plenty of extra calories. But months into the romance, you
often gain back the weight...and then
some. In fact, a study from the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
recently found that, over the course of
five years, coupled-up women in their
late teens and early 20s put on more
weight on average than single girls do.
And the stronger the bond, the greater
the bulge factor: Chicks who live with
their guy see the scale climb three
additional pounds, and those who get
married pack on an extra nine.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Why the Scale Climbs

When you're in the blissful throes of
love, you spend lots of time staring at
each other across the dinner table.
"You also consume 35 percent more
food when you eat with someone you
like," says Brian Wansink, PhD, author
of Mindless Eating. "If you're into a
guy, you end up ordering the crème
brûlée to make the date last longer."
Also, your desire to grow closer by
sharing experiences with him accounts
for why you agree to order food that
you'd usually pass on ("Fried calamari?
Sure, why not?") and split endless
bottles of wine. "Unfortunately,
the booze adds calories, lowers your
willpower, and makes you more prone
to diet-wrecking late-night eating,"
says NYC nutritionist Martha McKittrick,
who writes citygirlbites.com.

More From Cosmopolitan

On top of that, skipping your 7 a.m.
Spin class when there's a cute guy
next to you in bed seems reasonable.
And what better way to relax after a
long day than by snuggling up on the
couch with your man...and a bag of
chips? You indulge because it's there
and because your brain plays a sneaky
trick. "After you've been in love for
six months or so, the bonding hormone
oxytocin
takes over," says psychologist
Belisa Vranich, PsyD. "It
triggers cravings for comfort foods,
so 'guy snacks' you don't even like
seem appealing."

Before long, innocent slips pile on
pounds...and trouble
for your budding relationship.
"You think, I
can pack on a
few because
he loves me
for who I am,"
says Vranich.
"But your guy's
worrying that if he
stays with you, you'll balloon
even more." (He's picturing
your mom!) To make matters worse,
as you gain, you may feel self-conscious
about your body and be less
provocative in bed.

How to Snap Out of It

First, learn the difference between
your caloric needs and your man's.
"Men require 25 to 40 percent more
calories than women do, so take a
third less than his portion," advises
McKittrick.
Adds Wansink: "Studies
show that the more attention a woman
pays to how much she consumes on
a date, the less she'll eat." The good
news is that you can have drinks,
mozzarella sticks, or dessert in addition
to your entrée when you eat out.
"Just choose only one of the three
extras," says registered dietician Elisabetta
Politi, nutrition director at the
Duke Diet and Fitness Center.

Next, heat things up at home.
"Couples eat better when they cook
because they're more aware of portion
size and ingredients," says Politi.
But you may need to take the reins,
as dudes "tend to be heavy-handed
with butter," warns McKittrick.
Sneak in recipe substitutions, like
nonfat sour cream instead of the full-fat
version, egg whites in lieu of
whole eggs, and milk when the recipe
calls for cream.

At snack time, stick to guy-friendly
options that still have plenty of flavor
but fewer calories, like light ice cream,
baked tortilla chips and salsa, and pretzels,
advises McKittrick.
Other tricks:
Buy small containers — you eat 20 percent
less than you do from king-size
packages — and ask your guy to keep
his sinful treats at work or urge him to
get them in flavors you don't like.

And not only should you stick with
your favorite kickboxing class, but also
suggest active dates with your man, like
ice-skating, running, or biking. The
tag-team effort will pay off: Couples
who resolve to improve their eating
and exercise habits together are shown
to lose weight and maintain that healthy
lifestyle 16 months later.

"Harmless" Bites That Wreck Your Bod
Adding them to your diet without logging more gym time piles on a shocking number of pounds.

Splitting his large order of
fries. You may think forgoing a
burger for a salad allows you to
splurge. But noshing half an
order of fries once
a week packs on 4 lbs./yr.

Sharing mozzarella sticks
as an appetizer. Four with
marinara equal 440 calories.
Once weekly at dinner,
that's an extra 6.5 lbs./yr.

Splitting a bottle of red
wine with a meal. A half bottle
contains 2.5 5-oz. glasses and
about 315 calories. All that booze
on your Saturday
date nights adds on 5 lbs./yr.

Ordering a large popcorn.
Even without butter, your half
is 600-plus calories. Have it on
Friday movie nights,
and that's 9.5 lbs./yr.

Eating a small scoop of ice
cream from his bowl. It may
appear to be a tiny amount, but if
you eat it once
weekly, you'll gain 2 lbs./yr.

Getting chips and guac.
It's hard not to cave in every week
or so. But eventually,
it adds up to 2 lbs./yr.